Adif and The Railway Innovation Hub Spain, led by Ferrovial Agroman, sign a protocol to drive innovation in railway technology

Íñigo de la Serna, Minister for Infrastructure and Transportation, Juan Bravo, President of Adif and Juan Elízaga, Innovation and Media Director for Ferrovial Agroman and Chair of the Railway Innovation Hub Spain, signed a general protocol for action between Adif and the Hub on 9 May 2018, with the aim of driving competition within the rail sector through the promotion of innovation. Present at the signature of the agreement, which sets the stage for cooperation in the field of scientific research and technological innovation, were Alejandro de la Joya, General Manager, and Ángel Luis Sánchez, Building Director Area I, from Ferrovial Agroman, and Ignacio Jardi, Head of R&D at the Directorate for Rail and Transport. The Railway Innovation Hub Spain is a private initiative comprised of 49 companies from throughout the rail sector. Chaired by Ferrovial Agroman, its head office is housed at Adif’s Centre for Rail Technologies in Málaga. The Hub has been created with the vision of becoming a benchmark for rail innovation at an international level. Its mission is to drive sectoral technology and knowledge through implementation of collaborative R&D projects, the marketing of technology and know-how, the promotion of entrepreneurship and the delivery of specialist services. The Railway Innovation Hub will initially work to address the challenges facing the rail sector in a collaborative and innovative environment. It will do this by the means of the signing of an Integral Challenge Resolution Protocol  to cover all stages of innovation, from identification of the need or problem to be solved, to implementation of the solution in the market. Additionally, a catalogue of the most innovative products and services will be produced. The Railway Innovation Hub Spain is framed within the context of the Innovation Plan for Transport and infrastructures through which the Ministry for Infrastructure and Transportation promotes Spain’s international leadership on smart, efficient and sustainable infrastructures, with the end user at the centre. Four strategic areas have been identified in this respect: user experience, smart platforms, smart routes, and energy efficiency and sustainability. These areas are in turn divided into 22 strategic aims, with 70 accompanying initiatives. It is expected that investment over three years will total 77 million euros.